1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an image forming apparatus such as a PostScript® printer and an information processing apparatus having a PostScript® (hereinafter “PS”) driver, and more particularly to a technique of a color conversion process based on a command (PS operator).
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-99401 disclosed an image forming apparatus capable of being prevented from performing two separate color adjustments so as to achieve high-quality printing when an application sending a request for printing is capable of performing a color adjustment process. On the other hand, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2008-167422 discloses an image forming apparatus capable of, when the CRD (Color Rendering Directory) is switched for each of drawing objects, improving the performance of color processing on a document in which CIE (Commission Internationale d'Eclairage) colors are specified.
As disclosed in the above Patent Documents, a color printer generally has a color conversion function.
However, conventionally, settings of the color conversion function may be difficult for general users. Because of this, it may be difficult for those users to achieve high-quality printed images.
For example, a process of color conversion (hereinafter “color conversion process”) may be performed by both a PC (Personal computer) generating print data using a printer driver and an image forming apparatus processing the generated printed data. In this case, however, these color conversion processes are performed independently from each other and no exclusive processing (exclusive control) is performed.
Further, settings of color conversion (hereinafter “color conversion setting(s)”) typically include a setting using an Adobe command (standard operator (command)) and a setting using a vendor command. In the setting using the vendor command, an extended command (extended operator (command)) defined by the vendor is provided so that the color conversion process using the extended command can be optimally adapted to the input/output characteristics of the vendor's image forming apparatus. Namely, the setting of the vendor is optimized for the vendor's image forming apparatus. Therefore, generally, the color conversion process by using the vendor's command has been set to be used as the default color conversion process.
Further, typically, the color conversion settings are performed using plural UI (User Interface) menus of the printer driver and the application. In this case, the color conversion settings are performed independently from each other and no exclusive processing (exclusive control) is performed. Further, in the UI menu(s), a setting item which is common among all the color conversion settings cannot be commonly set (i.e., the UI menus are not determined in the same manner among different color conversion settings). Because of this inconvenience, different UI menus are required to be used even when a common setting item is set.
Because of those features, the user is required to sufficiently understand the characteristics (features) of the color conversion processes and the color conversion settings in advance to obtain a desired print result (or a high-quality print result). This means that the user has to find (determine) the optimal settings by himself/herself and set using appropriate UI menus. This operations, however, may be difficult and cumbersome for most users. Due to this inconvenience, when intending to use a conventional color conversion function as described above, a user may set a wrong setting, so that different color conversion settings having an exclusive relationship with each other (e.g., plural (different) color conversion settings using the standard command and the extended command) are mixed in the data to be printed (print data). As a result, a desired (high-quality) print result may not be easily obtained.